Make an exhibition of yourself - maximise your impact at trade shows
In the same way that radio was predicted to kill newspapers and TV supposedly sounded the death knell for radio, so the internet is predicted to cause the demise of just about every other marketing and retail channel. And, of course, it’s a load of nonsense! People need a variety of marketing media and stimuli – and they often prefer to interact face to face with other people.
According to the Association of Event Organisers the exhibition industry injects nearly £2 billion per year into the UK economy with around 550 organisers putting on 1,900 exhibitions… which attract 17 million visitors! And I believe that, in the same way Amazon has actually helped traditional book retailers by getting more people reading, so the internet will boost the number and quality of exhibitions.
However, exhibitions are very expensive. Indeed, you may in fact spend more to have a decent presence at just one major event than it would cost you to design and build a really good website that might last for a year or more. So here are my suggestions for highly effective exhibitions:
- Make sure you have a very clear desired result before you commit to exhibiting – are you seeking to attract new customers, impress existing ones, or both? Are you launching new products or services or your existing range – if the later, what’s in it for the delegates? What are your key messages – what do you want visitors to remember you for?
- Is the exhibition really suited to your target audience(s) – are they going to turn up? Consider the logistics from your target audience’s point of view – is the exhibition being held at a time of year that allows them to take a day away and at a location that’s convenient?
- Get hold of last year’s delegate list (actual names if possible, company names and titles at the very least) – call a selection and ask if they will be attending this year.
- Will your competitors be there? Is this a good or bad thing? What if you attract your best customers and they then visit your competitors?
- The pre-event marketing is at least as important as the event itself. What can you do to cause delegates to be excited about visiting your stand? Invest in some really good invitations and consider hosting special and ‘exclusive’ hospitality – perhaps breakfast before the show opens at a nearby venue?
- Have you got the necessary resources to exhibit properly? All too often companies spend fortunes on an impressive stand, only to man it with people who are bored, lack knowledge and actually do you more harm than good. It is vital that your very best people are manning the stand – and are motivated to be there.
- What will you do to make your stand get noticed? Your personality and values should be visually reflected and, most importantly, it should be obvious to delegates what you do – the subtle approach doesn’t work and time-pressed visitors will just walk by thinking “what’s that all about?” Gimmicks work for some but all too often cause a company to be seen as ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ and trying too hard. Make sure your stand is inviting, easy to access and has space for people to chat easily with you.
- Avoid too much technology – something nearly always goes wrong and stands crammed full of sweating technicians being barked at by stressed out executives does not give the right impression!
- What handouts or giveaways will you have? Remember that people often tip their bulging carrier bags into the nearest bin as they realise they’ve got far too much to take home. Much better to scan a business card and send your brochure to them as a follow up.
- On the subject of keeping contact – it amazes me how poor many companies are at this! If you’ve gone to all the trouble and expense to meet new prospects, make sure you follow them up quickly and appropriately. I always urge clients to do this during the show – have members of your team allocated to follow up the previous day’s leads.
A well planned and properly executed exhibition can be one of the most effective marketing activities of the year for many businesses: the opportunity to speak with new and existing clients, to show off how good you are, as well as catch up with others from your industry and the trade press. Quite simply, an exhibition can deliver an outstanding return on your investment. However, it will not happen by chance. As with all highly effective marketing, it requires a proper plan, sufficient resources and a lot of hard work too!
Peter Knight is chairman of Phoenix, a communications agency, and author of the best-selling ‘HEMP: Highly Effective Marketing Plans’. If you run a real business and have come up with a stunning marketing plan, or you want help to create one, Peter would love to hear from you at pk@phoenixplc.com
